The Jizake “Choshu Roman” Tokubetsu Junmai Sake (Japan) – There’s something here…earthy, a little herbal, setting up a vacation home in the realm of umami…that’s unusual in my sake experience. This, though, is a closeout and I wonder if this intriguing character is due to some essential quality or because the bottle’s too old (there’s no apparent lot or date indication on the label, though there are some smudges of something that might once have been same). Whatever the source, there’s a delicacy, quiet nervosity, and balance to this that I haven’t quite experienced before in my extremely neophytical rice-beverage explorations. I really like this, in case it’s not obvious. (12/10)